A cap or hood having a cold weather face mask is disclosed in U.S. Letters Pat. No. 4,300,240 to Edwards. The prior art also includes other cold weather caps or hoods having face masks manufactured from materials such as cotton, and various synthetic fibers. While these materials will generally keep an individual warm, they may not be as effective an insulator when exposed to environmental conditions which include either high winds, or moisture, and extremely cold temperatures. Under these circumstances, water vapor in the breath of the user may condense or freeze on the face mask.
Still another significant problem with the prior art cold weather garments results from characteristics inherent in their individual designs. As earlier discussed, the knitted materials incorporated into the prior art cold weather garments have frequently had insulative characteristics which decrease when they are individually exposed to moisture. Further these same materials often have surface texture characteristics which may irritate the skin of the user if the garment is worn in contact with the surface of the skin for extended periods of time. Moreover, prior art materials have often had surface texture characteristics such that when they are individually brushed against other objects, they may tend to produce audible noise. This is an undesirable characteristic in those circumstances where the user may be wearing the hood while hunting.